Many poultry or game bird farmers utilize an egg incubator to hatch their birds. Incubators generally provide a controlled climate and environment for producing healthy poultry and game birds.
Climate is typically controlled in terms of temperature and humidity for a given species of bird. Improper or inconsistent temperature or humidity may result in damage to the eggs, embryos, or the birds once they hatch. For example, excessive temperature or insufficient humidity may damage the embryos. Further, an incubator allows the eggs to rest undisturbed other than, in certain incubators, to periodically turn the eggs. For example, chickens periodically roll their eggs to prevent the embryos from sticking to the shell of the egg. Some incubators turn the eggs periodically to mimic this behavior for at least a portion of the incubation period, and usually up to a certain amount, or predetermined period, of time before an expected hatch.
Conventional small low-cost incubators are typically Styrofoam or molded plastic and utilize a simple electric heat source and a water tray to provide humidity. Such a heat source may be controlled by a thermostat, and the water tray must be accessed within the incubator and refilled manually to produce an imprecise humidity level within the incubator, where too little water yields too little humidity, and too much water yields excessive humidity. Such water trays are further disadvantageous because the incubator must be opened each time to gain access to the water tray. More advanced, i.e., more costly, incubators may include a “humidity pump,” or an external humidity source that injects moist air into the incubator. Basic incubators generally do not include a mechanism for turning the eggs, which leaves the user with turning the eggs manually. Again, more costly incubators may include an automatic egg turning mechanism. For example, certain known incubators include a tray onto which one or more eggs are placed, and the tray periodically tilts the eggs in alternating directions. In another example, the tray includes a set of motorized rolling pins onto which the eggs are placed, and the rolling pins periodically rotate to roll the eggs. In either case, with such automated egg turning mechanisms, the eggs should be removed from the mechanism a certain amount of time before hatch to allow the bird to position itself for hatching.